Golf club head



G. G. oQulsT GOLF CLUB HEAD oct. 15, V1957 Original Filed March 11, 1948 Uefa/far 590W@ United States Patent O GOLF CLUB HEAD George G. Oquist, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Plastic olf Products, Inc., Chicago, lll., a corporation of Illinois 194s, serial No. 14,202, dated August 10, 1954'. 1953, Serial 2 claims. (C1. 27s- 174) The invention relates generally to golf clubs, and more particularly to a golf club head construction.

This application is `a division of my co-pending application, Serial No. 14,202, filed March 11, 1948, for Golf Club Head, which 's now U. S. Patent No. 2,686,056, granted August 10, 1954. A

The invention has among its objectsthe production of a golf club head of the type commonly termed woods due to their usual wooden construction, which may be constructed of suitable plastics or the like, and at the same time produce a club head having desirable weight, balance and feel characteristics of a club head constructed of wood.

Another object of the invention is the production of a golf club head of the wood type adapted to be con-` structed of molded materials, which is simple in construction, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and very attractive in appearance.

A further object of the invention is the production such a club head wherein the appearance of the hitting face may be readily varied, at the same time permitting the use of a single or standard club head body, whereby a variety of differently appearing club heads may be produced, all of which employ the same body design.

A further object of the invention is the production of a novel golf club head which in its finished formis substantially an integral unit, eliminating substantially all screws and other possibly removable parts and in which stresses applied to the club face are distributed among portions of the body member of the head.

Many other objects and advantages of the construction herein shown and described Will be obvious to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein given.

To this end my invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and combination of parts herein shown and described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters indicate like or corresponding parts:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a club head embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken approximately on the line 2-2 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the club head illustrated in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken approximately on the line 4--4 of Fig. 3.

The present invention contemplates the use of a wood type club head constructed of suitable plastic or other material which may be readily molded, wherein the body portion of the head is provided with a cavity which opens on the face side of the head and is closed by a cover or closure member, the outer face of which forms, in effect, the hitting face of the club head.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates generally the body portion of a club head having an upwardly extending shaft receiving hosel 2 integrally formed therewith, the body portion 1 being constructed of suitable plastic material or the like which may be readily molded to the desired shape, and as such plastic or molding materials normally have a greater density than that of the woodY commonly used in manufacturing such club heads, provision is made for changing and/ or equalizing the weight characteristics of the molded head with that of the wooden head. This is accomplished by providing the body 1 with a cavity 3, the latter in the present instance, for the purposes of illustration, beingshown as more or less cylindrical in form, the side walls in the present instance tapering outwardly slightly to provide sufficient draft during the molding operation.

The open end of the cavity 3 is closed by a cover or closure member 4, the outer face 5 of which forms a part of the hitting face of the club head. As illustrated in Figs. l, 3 and 4, the member 4 is positioned in a complementary recess 6 in the body 1 adjacent the open end of the cavity 3. The rear wall 7 of the recess 6 is substantially at and the side walls thereof are outwardly as indicated at 8 in Fig.`3. Likewise, the top and bottom walls of the recess 6 may be ared outwardly. It will thus be apparent that compression stresses on the closure member 4 resulting from the hitting of a ball will be transmitted from the member 4 to the top, bottom and side walls of the recess 6 as well as Vto the rear wall 7 thereof, vthereby effectively distributing impact stresses to the various portions of the body 1.

If desired, the face of the club head may also be provided with an insert 1p1 positioned in a vertically extending channel 12 inthe member 4 and an aligned channel 13 in the adjacent upper portion of the body 1. The closure member 4 and theinsert 11 may be formed of any suitable material, as for example, molded plastic or the like and are rigidly secured to the body 1 by a plastic solvent, cement, or other suitable means. The face 14 of the insert 11 forms the normal ball engaging portion of the club head, and it will be apparent that, if desired, the insert 11 and grooves 1 2 and 13 may be omitted, whereby the face of the closure member 4 will form the normal ball `engaging surface of the club head. It will be noted that inthe construction illustrated, stresses are transmitted vfrom the insert 11 to the member 4 vand in addition thereto, some stresses are transmitted directly to the body 1 at the engagement of the insert with the rear wall 15 of the channel 13.

Embedded in the material forming the body 1 of the head is a sole plate 16 formed from suitable metal such as steel or brass as is well known in the art and having a shank 17 extending upwardly therefrom at the heel end of the club head, the shank 17 having a bore 18 therein axially aligned with the bore 19 of the hosel 2. Assuming a hollow metal shaft 21 is employed the latter may be provided with a solid end member 22 rigidly connected by any suitable means to the adjacent end of the shaft 21, the member 22 having its free end thereof threaded as indicated at 23 and engageable with cooperating threads 24 in the bore 18 of the shank 17. The shaft 21 is rigidly locked in the socket thus formed by a screw 25 threaded into the shank 17, and the threaded end 22 of the shaft. The toe end of the sole plate 16 is rigidly secured to the body 1 by a projection 26 extending inwardly from the metallic sole plate 16, integrally formed with the metallic sole plate and embedded into the material forming the body 1. The projection 26 may be provided with a transverse aperture 27 therein adapted to be filled by the material forming the body 1 during the molding operation, or equivalent interlocking means thereby firmly anchoring the projection and sole plate-16 to the body 1. It will be apparent that with the present construction, the finished club head is substantially an integral unit which is very durable in use and Y Patented Oct. 15, 1957 i inwhich.attachingzscrews for. the various parts suchi'as the sole plate 16, etc. other than the locking screw 25 are eliminated.

While the closure member...4 may be of any suitable size and shape, Ijprefer-.toonstruct the same-of fa size.

to Vprovide substantially jthe entire ,hitting face of -the-` club headk as thisconstruction provides maximum strength and durability and./at.;the-sarne.-.Ltime enablesV variationsv in the club face to :be readily and inexpensively gmade.y It' will .be noted that by the use of `this construct-iom includ' ing the use of the insert 11, various scoring designs, etc.,

mayv be produced inthe club face and the Vface of the v insert without changing the construction -or design of the 1 body 1. Thus, thel appearance of -the--club may. bezreadily varied by providing a plurality gof'closure-membersand,

inserts, the faces of which are .scoredfor otherwise ydesigned .toy provide diifereut Vornamental eiects,- anyof the various members being-,adapted'to be assembled with the same body portion. importance in the'rnanufacture of 'club heads, asteach This feature Vis of particular..

manufacturer of golf clubs may.V have :his-own particular design for the club face, Vandin'manufacturng differently appearing club heads only one mold is Vrequired for'thea body of the head,..the ,various-,fdifferenteifectsabeing achieved solely by employing diierent combinations of closure members andfinserts. Y. Obviously,athei cost of producing a number of differentlyv designed closure mem bers 4 land inserts 11 particularlYaWith respect toithe' molds therefor, will be lconsiderablyflessthan. :thencostoil-producing several dilerent 'bodiesrxl and thelmolds therefor.

The size and shape of the` cavity 3 'may befreadily varied as desired, whereby the; same-V sized:` club head. may

construction which is relatively simple,.-very durablein use, and .in which `various :ornamental 'effects may `be readily and inexpensively produced:v-

Having thus described my invention, it is obvious that.- various immaterial Amodiiications :may beV made .1in :the 1 sameswithout .departing from :the kspirit of my. invention;

hence, I do not wish `to-be understoodas limiting myself to-the exact form, construction, arrangement and combination of parts herein shown and described or uses mentioned.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. As an article of manufacture, a metallic sole plate for integrally molding with a molded golf club head of the wood type comprising a body portion formed of a moldable material,..said sole plate including at least` one :integrgakv aperturedA projection vertically extending therefrom contiguous to the front edge of the sole plate for molding within the molded golf club head in the molding thereof,.said aperturev ofV the projection being .transverse thereto, whereby in molding the molded golf club head with said sole plate, said sole plate and projection are molded and aXed-tothebody portion with the apertured projection integrally molded within the molded golf club head1and the sole plateproviding the bottom face of the molded golf-,club head.A

2. As Van-articleofmanuaCture, a metallic sole plate fo'r integrallymoldingwwitha moldedk golf club head of the woodl type comprising Ia body portion including a hosel portion and formed of a moldable material, said sole plateincludingnat4 leastone '.-integral .transversely apertured'projectioncontiguousto.the front edge of the sole plate forfimoldngwiththe molded golf club head in:the molding- .thereof for afxingrto thel body portion and-a shank `forthe hosel portion for -integrally molding with theflbodyt-tportiontherewith whereby in molding the molded golf club head with said sole plate, said sole plate, apertured projection :fthereof, Y and, shankv are integrally moldedtandfaxed-.toathe bodyportion vwith the apertured projection integrally molded within the moldedgolf club head, vthe solefplateembedded inthe body portion and providing the bottom face of the molded golf club head,i andfthefshank -molded-.withinl the -body portion at the heel; end of the. molded golf club head;

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED .STATES PATENTS 838,284 Thompson '1 Dec. 11, 1906 1,501,344 Hubbard; July 15, 1924 1,592,463 Marker Julyl3, 1926 1,841,062 Schavoirv .Tan. 12, 1932 2,201,638 Thiebault- May 2l, 1940` 2,203,893 'Y Chapman June 11, 1940 

